LHC Suspends Man's Punishment For Contracting Second Marriage Without First Wife's Consent

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has dismissed a decision of a judicial magistrate who sentenced a man in prison for contracting a second marriage without seeking consent of his first wife. In its verdict, the high court stated that only a family court has the authority to sentence men for marrying secretly.
Ishrat Rasool, the complainant, had based her complaint on the second marriage law in Pakistan. Her husband, Muzaffar Nawaz, had married another woman named Sitara Jabeen without informing his first wife in 2019.

Section 6(5) of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961 says that a woman can register a case against her husband in case he failed to seek his wife's consent. The man can get one year in jail if he wishes to marry another woman.